The Red Wolf Gang’s Ambush
I spent the next several days utterly absorbed in training.
Perhaps because it hadn't been long since I'd returned to the past, I could see my strength growing by leaps and bounds with even a little effort.
More precisely, it felt as though my body was finally being rebuilt into one worthy of my original skill.
If this pace kept up, it wouldn't be long before I could test myself even against Sagong Cheon.
Of course, since he too was a genius destined to reach the Harmony Realm at a young age, I couldn't say that with certainty.
In any case, those were the days I was passing through when I received an urgent report from Sagong Cheon.
"Under-the-Moon Iron Workshop was attacked?"
"Yes. More precisely, the merchant convoy of the Golden Frog Merchant Group, which supplies iron to the Under-the-Moon Iron Workshop, was attacked."
The Golden Frog Merchant Group wasn't quite one of the ten greatest merchant companies under heaven, but it was still a massive concern ranked just below them.
They also had a contract with the Under-the-Moon Iron Workshop under the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect, supplying iron and selling the finished weapons produced there.
And such people had been attacked?
"It seems the culprits were a band of mounted brigands called the Red Wolf Gang. They intercepted the iron shipment intended for the Under-the-Moon Iron Workshop."
"The Red Wolf Gang."
I had heard of them.
They weren't especially large as mounted bandit groups went, but their leader and core officers all practiced mounted martial arts, making them difficult opponents. I had heard that even the local army had struggled to subdue them.
Of course, a few years from now, they would be wiped out by a single wandering hero.
But still.
So those bastards had made their move now?
"The Golden Frog Merchant Group and the Under-the-Moon Iron Workshop have requested our help. They want us to subdue the Red Wolf Gang and recover the stolen iron."
"Hmm. We can't simply ignore that."
No matter that the Under-the-Moon Iron Workshop was technically subordinate to the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect—its influence was considerable.
It was, after all, one of our main sources of income.
We could brush off the request and let it pass halfheartedly, of course, but...
If we did, the trust between us would crack beyond repair.
So if at all possible, we had to grant this request.
Besides, even if we let this one slide, there was no guarantee it wouldn't happen again in the future.
"Then we'll need to convene a clan council first."
"The Head of the Elders' Council has likely already begun discussing countermeasures. Young Lord, you should go at once."
"Right."
We arrived at the hall where the meeting was already being prepared.
"Ah, you've come, Young Lord."
The one who greeted me there with a genial smile was none other than Yi Tae-gyeom, head of the Elders' Council.
I gave a light greeting to him and the senior figures gathered there before taking my seat.
Everyone looked grave, so it seemed they had already heard what had happened.
"Now that we're all here, let us begin. The matter before us is, of course, the request from the Golden Frog Merchant Group and the Under-the-Moon Iron Workshop. They are asking that we subdue the Red Wolf Gang."
"Not additional escort protection or prevention of future incidents, but outright subjugation?"
One of the senior members spoke in puzzlement.
To be honest, that part bothered me as well.
Ordinarily, when something like this happened, people asked for stronger escort support on future caravans—not for their attackers to be hunted down and their goods recovered.
Yi Tae-gyeom answered him.
"It seems the Golden Frog Merchant Group suffered severe losses in this attack. They want revenge."
"Ah..."
"So that's the situation."
"That is why they have requested assistance from us, their trading partner. They must have judged that their own strength alone would not be enough to destroy the brigands."
"Then we'll have to dispatch a martial force."
As soon as I said that, every eye in the room turned toward me.
Yi Tae-gyeom nodded.
"Unfortunately, the Iron Blood Sword Unit, the elite of our main house, is currently away on assignment and cannot be sent. Considering mobility and various other factors, I intend to draw several groups from the Gale Squad and send them instead. The problem is that there is no one to take responsibility for them..."
"If you're drawing men from the Gale Squad, why not send the Gale Squad leader?"
"He was injured on a recent mission and has not yet recovered. It would be too much for him to take part in this expedition."
"I see."
I nodded as if in understanding.
Then a voice sounded from one side.
"In that case, why not have the Young Lord lead them personally?"
"Elder Wang?"
"What nonsense are you suddenly spouting?"
The speaker was Wang Jin.
Ignoring the bewildered stares aimed at him, Wang Jin looked only at me as he spoke.
"The Young Lord is fully grown now, is he not? I merely thought it might be good for him to gain some experience in the jianghu this way. With the Gale Squad accompanying him, there should be little danger."
"Even so, to suddenly entrust such a matter to the Young Lord, who has no experience at all—"
"Are you in your right mind?"
Criticism flew at him from all sides.
Mostly from the senior figures aligned with my father—or with me.
But there were also those who defended Wang Jin.
"Enough. Elder Wang's words are not entirely wrong, are they?"
"The Young Lord is at that age. I'd say he'd be fortunate to seize an opportunity like this."
"And in the end, shouldn't the final decision be left to the Young Lord himself? What exactly is everyone objecting to?"
That was the faction of elders who followed the head of the Elders' Council.
Ah.
Only then did I fully understand how things were moving.
This is the Elder Council Head's doing.
If Wang Jin had acted on his own out of personal resentment toward me, there wouldn't have been this many voices backing him.
Which meant pressure had come from above.
And the only man with the power to pull this kind of stunt was the head of the Elders' Council.
Sure enough, Yi Tae-gyeom had not objected in the slightest after Wang Jin made his proposal.
He wants me to accept this subjugation request.
What was the aim?
To ruin my reputation by making me fail the mission?
Or... to use the brigands to kill with a borrowed knife?
Perhaps both.
If even one of those succeeded, they would lose nothing.
But.
If I succeed, the reward coming back to me will be even greater.
"I'll accept."
I answered with a faint smile.
At that, everyone who had been arguing in the council chamber stared at me in shock.
Even those who had been insisting I should go looked flustered.
They probably hadn't expected me to agree so readily.
Only the head of the Elders' Council wore a pleased smile.
"Hoho. Are you truly certain, Young Lord? Even with the Gale Squad accompanying you, this may still be a dangerous mission. If you make your decision in a moment of hot blood, things could go badly."
His tone sounded concerned, but I knew better.
If I backed down here, he'd spread word throughout the clan that I was a coward.
I couldn't allow that.
I answered confidently.
"I can do it. And as Elder Wang said, I'm at that age now, am I not? As one who will one day inherit the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect, I don't think it's acceptable if I can't handle even a matter like this."
"Oh!"
"I didn't know the Young Lord carried such spirit."
"Still, isn't it too dangerous?"
"The Gale Squad will go with him, so what is there to worry about? Or do you doubt their abilities?"
"N-no, that's not what I mean..."
"Let us respect the Young Lord's will here."
Once I declared my intention to participate, praise broke out from several corners of the hall.
Mostly from the Elder Council Head's faction.
Their intentions were transparent, but I didn't show it.
I had already meant to go anyway, and I had no intention of spoiling their performance.
Of course, they were hoping I would fail.
Sorry, but I have no such plans.
Before long, they would likely be pounding the ground in regret.
Once I returned in triumph after crushing the Red Wolf Gang.
I pictured it and grinned.
Just imagining the expression Yi Tae-gyeom would wear made it impossible not to smile.
I was introduced to the Gale Squad members almost at once.
The men I would be commanding consisted of three of the Gale Squad's five divisions.
A force of sixty in total.
There were a few familiar faces among them.
"So Ho, leader of the Gale Squad's First Squad."
"Gwang Hye-won of the Second Squad."
"I am Jeong Ik, leader of the Third Squad. It is an honor to serve alongside you, Young Lord."
For words like those, however, most of the Gale Squad's expressions were less than welcoming.
Their faces practically said, Who the hell is this brat to command us?
I smiled at the situation, just as I had expected.
I had known from the start that I wouldn't be welcomed warmly.
"I am Jin Muyeol, acting Young Lord of the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect. And this is my guard, Sagong Cheon. I hope we'll work well together."
"..."
"Most of you probably don't like me. I'd imagine being commanded by some inexperienced youngster sits poorly with you. In your place, I would think the same."
"...!"
The Gale Squad members' expressions shifted at my words.
They clearly hadn't expected me to say it first.
But whether they were surprised or not, I continued calmly.
"So I have no intention of making you suffer through reckless command. In practice, I intend to leave direct battlefield control to the squad leaders present here. That should suffice, shouldn't it?"
Once I said that much, I could feel the Gale Squad's gaze soften noticeably.
After all, I was still the Young Lord. If I approached them with humility, they had no real reason to dislike me that much.
I turned to the three squad leaders and spoke in an even tone.
"Let's move out first. It would be troublesome if they caught wind of us and ran."
At present, thanks to intelligence leaked from the Golden Frog Merchant Group, we knew the location of the village where the Red Wolf Gang was supposedly encamped.
But to be honest, I was a little suspicious.
Was that information truly leaked by the Golden Frog Merchant Group?
Or had someone colluding with the Red Wolf Gang released it instead—simply to put me in danger?
If so, there was every chance this was a trap.
"Yes. We'll depart at once."
"Everyone, move out!"
But even so, there was no choice but to go.
How could there be?
If we knew where the enemy was and did nothing, we'd deserve condemnation.
If that became known, I'd likely face fierce criticism within the clan.
So I deliberately rode at the front where all could see.
At that, So Ho, leader of the First Squad, drew near with an unexpectedly impressed look.
"Young Lord, you're an excellent rider."
"Am I?"
"Yes. Your posture is straight, and you don't sway at all. Did someone train you personally when you were young?"
"The Family Head... no, my father taught me, back when he wasn't yet confined to his sickbed."
"Ah..."
His eyes filled with sympathy.
Well, anyone who knew the circumstances would react that way.
My father's condition was so poor that there wasn't a single person in the clan who didn't know of it.
Though by now, he's likely expelled a fair amount of the poison through the Jeonghwagyeol.
But revealing that would come later.
In any case, that became the starting point for quite a long conversation between us.
Who the enemy leader was, how large their numbers were, whether the martial arts they practiced were formidable, and so on.
By the time we had spoken through all that, we had arrived at our destination—Hyo-eul Village.
The village the brigands had forcibly occupied.
"It looks deserted."
"Did they run?"
"No, we came as soon as we got the information..."
I could feel the Gale Squad growing uneasy.
And for good reason.
We had already come deep into the village, yet there was no sign of the mounted bandits anywhere.
But then, in that very moment—
"Everyone, prepare for battle!"
I shouted, filling my voice with internal energy.
Everyone stared at me in shock.
But instead of explaining, I turned my gaze to one side.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
A considerable number of mounted brigands were charging straight toward us with fierce momentum.